Camellia Sinensis (L.) Kuntze plant named Kiyoka

ABSTRACT

‘Kiyoka’ is a new variety of tea plant bred by crossbreeding FYZ-41 (‘Yabukita’ x ‘Shizuinzatsu 131’), a hybrid, as the female parent and ‘Saemidori’ as the male parent. The plant may be used, e.g., for cultivation of tea leaves and leaf buds for consumption. The steamed leaves and leaf buds of ‘Kiyoka’ have a distinctive floral aroma, and excellent taste.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to Japanese Application No. 33551,filed Dec. 14, 2018, which is hereby incorporated by reference in itsentirety and for all purposes.

PLANT NAME AND VARIETY DENOMINATION

Latin name of the genus and species of the plant claimed: Camelliasinensis (L.) Kuntze. The claimed plant is a hybridization of differentvarieties.

Common names of the claimed plant's species: tea plant.

Variety denomination: ‘Kiyoka’.

BACKGROUND

Camellia sinensis (L.) Kuntze, commonly called tea plant or tea shrub,is an evergreen shrub or small tree whose leaves and leaf buds are usedto produce tea. Camellia sinensis is mainly cultivated in tropical andsubtropical climates. Camellia sinensis is native to East Asia, theIndian Subcontinent, and Southeast Asia, however it is currentlycultivated across the world in tropical and subtropical regions.

BRIEF SUMMARY

‘Kiyoka’ is a new variety of Camellia sinensis (L.) Kuntze bred bycrossbreeding FYZ-41 (‘Yabukita’ x Shizuinzatsu 131′), a hybrid, as thefemale parent and ‘Saemidori’ as the male parent. ‘Kiyoka’ is propagatedby grafts or cuttings. The plant may be used, e.g., for cultivation oftea leaves and leaf buds for consumption.

Approximately 75% of Japan's tea fields are used for cultivating‘Yabukita.’ An adverse effect of such singular cultivation is thatJapanese tea lacks diversity of aroma and flavor. Currently, the needsof commercial users and consumers of tea are diversifying, and there isa need for new tea varieties which have their own distinctive aroma andflavor. To date, the tea varieties ‘Sofu’ and ‘Fuji Kaori’ (which arecrossbreeds between ‘Yabukita’ and ‘Assam’ variant progeny lines) havebeen bred as varieties having a distinctive aroma. However, when suchteas are used as sencha (a type of Japanese green tea), while they dohave an excellent oriental-orchid-like floral fragrance, they also oftenhave an astringent flavor. There has been development of new techniquesfor withering plucked fresh leaves in a manner that enhances aroma, byutilizing low-temperature moisture-removal withering or new artificialwithering devices. Unfortunately, such techniques result in a tea whosecolor of liquor differs from that of sencha and is closer to that ofsemi-fermented tea.

‘Kiyoka’ is a variety obtained by selecting individuals from progeny ofa crossbreed between (i) FYZ-41 (seed parent), which is an Assam variantcrossbreed progeny having a floral fragrance, and (ii) ‘Saemidori,’which is a high-quality variety having strong umami. ‘Kiyoka’ ischaracterized in that (i) it has a clean and distinctive floralfragrance like that of an oriental orchid, (ii) its color of liquor isgreenish, and (iii) it has a flavor exhibiting umami. At the localadaptability test sites and the test sites in the research promotionprogram, processed tea quality was examined, and it was confirmed that‘Kiyoka’ has a distinctive floral fragrance and excellent flavor.‘Kiyoka’ is early budding and thus limited in terms of cultivationregion, and its yield is less than that of ‘Saemidori.’ However,‘Kiyoka’ presents the possibility of development of new products whichutilize its new characteristic aroma and flavor.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a breeding pedigree chart for ‘Kiyoka.’

FIG. 2 is a photograph of ‘Kiyoka’ first flush, young shoots.

FIG. 3 is a photograph of the state of ‘Kiyoka’ plants at time of firstflush.

FIG. 4 is a photograph of the state of ‘Kiyoka’ plants in thecultivation field at the time of plucking. Ruler shown is 1 meter.

FIG. 5 is a photograph of the state of parent variety ‘Saemidori’ plantsin the cultivation field at the time of plucking. Ruler shown is 1meter.

FIG. 6 is a photograph of the state of parent variety ‘Yabukita’ plantsin the cultivation field at the time of plucking. Ruler shown is 1meter.

FIG. 7 is a photograph of the shape of young shoots at plucking (firstflush) of ‘Kiyoka’ (left), ‘Saemidori’ (center), and ‘Yabukita’ (right).

FIG. 8 is a photograph of the shape of young leaves from water sprout atplucking (first flush) for ‘Kiyoka’ (left), ‘Yabukita’ (center), and‘Saemidori’ (right).

DETAILED BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION OF THE PLANT

Variety: ‘Kiyoka’

Species of the plant claimed: Camellia sinensis (L.) Kuntze.

Common names of the claimed plant's species include: tea plant or teashrub.

Characteristics of ‘Kiyoka’ provided herein were observed when the plantwas cultivated in Japan.

Properties and characteristics of ‘Kiyoka,’ compared to the parentvarieties, are described in Tables 1 and 2 below.

TABLE 1 Properties and characteristics of ‘Kiyoka’ clearlydistinguishable from similar varieties. Denomination State of State ofof Similar Description of Expression in Expression in VarietyCharacteristics Similar Variety ‘Kiyoka’ Yabukita Plant: vigor Weak tomedium Medium to strong Saemidori Plant: vigor Weak to medium Medium tostrong Yabukita Plant: growth habit Upright to semi Semi upright uprightto spreading Yabukita Time of sprouting Medium Early Yabukita Youngshoot: time of Medium Early beginning of “one and a bud” stage YabukitaTime of plucking Medium Early Yabukita Leaf blade: intensity MediumLight of green color Saemidori Leaf blade: intensity Medium Light ofgreen color Yabukita Fermentation ability Weak Medium SaemidoriFermentation ability Weak Medium

Currently, most green tea varieties that are prevalent in Japan areeither the ‘Yabukita’ variety (accounting for approximately 75% of teacultivation land area) or varieties whose aroma resembles ‘Yabukita.’There is a lack of varieties having a strong unique aroma. Typically,for sencha, each tea company produces its own original sencha product byhaving a tea expert blend a number of varieties, with ‘Yabukita’ servingas the base. Tea varieties having a strong unique aroma of their owntend to ruin the balance between aroma and flavor when blended with‘Yabukita.’ As such, there had previously been little demand for suchvarieties from commercial users. Currently, however, the needs ofcommercial users and consumers of tea are diversifying, and there istherefore a demand for new tea varieties which have their own strong,distinctive aroma. In recent times there has been an increase indevelopment of tea products having new flavor/aroma by using existingvarieties but modifying processing techniques to enhance the aroma.However, production methods for sencha normally use few varieties havingtheir own strong, distinctive aroma. Furthermore, varieties that do havea characteristic aroma often have an astringent flavor. As such, the aimof the present tea variety is to breed a green tea variety which differsfrom conventional tea varieties by having a strong, distinctive aromaand excellent flavor.

Cross-breeding of ‘Kiyoka’ was carried out in 1998 at Makurazaki-shi inKagoshima, Japan. Seed collection, sowing, and cultivation was performedin 1999. In 1998, an F1 seedling group was obtained by crossbreeding (i)FYZ-41 (seed parent), which has a strong floral fragrance, and (ii)‘Saemidori’ (pollen parent), which is early maturing and providesexcellent processed tea quality. ‘Kiyoka’ was selected from this F1seedling group in an individual selection test in 2005 (see FIG. 1).Individual selection tests were performed from 2001 to 2005. Thereafter,‘Kiyoka’ was submitted under the name ‘Makurazaki 54-20’ to clonal linecomparison test group 54, and was found to have an excellent distinctivearoma. In 2005, propagation by cutting (nursery selection) wasperformed.

Clonal line comparison testing took place from 2006 to 2012. Localadaptability testing, as well as testing for specific characteristics,was performed from 2011 to 2018. In 2011, ‘Kiyoka’ was submitted underthe name ‘Yachaken 04 Gou’ to local adaptability test group No. 13.Furthermore, in 2014, ‘Kiyoka’ was subjected to cultivation andprocessing testing as a candidate variety having excellent color andflavor/aroma in a “science and technology research promotion program foragriculture, forestry, fisheries and food industry” (plant varietyproducing project), specifically a program for “breeding of tea varietysuited for commercial user needs, and development of techniques forcultivation, processing, and use thereof”.

Morphological Characteristic

Plant growth habit is semi upright to spreading. Plant vigor is mediumto strong. Plant is of “gajugata” (bud weight) type. Cutting propagationrate is favorable. Data from 2017 local adaptability tests shows plantspread to be somewhat larger than ‘Yabukita,’ and somewhat smaller than‘Saemidori,’ and therefore nearly the equivalent to that of parentstrains ‘Yabukita’ and ‘Saemidori.’

In local adaptability tests, the average for fresh leaf yield of‘Kiyoka’ was, for first flush, less than that of ‘Yabukita’ and‘Saemidori,’ and for the second flush, was equivalent to that of‘Yabukita’ and less than that of ‘Saemidori.’ At the breeding site,yield across all tea-plucking seasons (first flush to third flush) wasless than that of ‘Saemidori,’ but greater than that of ‘Yabukita.’‘Kiyoka’ also exhibits excellent color, with dark green fresh leaves.SPAD value (an index of chlorophyll content) was higher than in‘Yabukita’ and equivalent to or higher than in ‘Saemidori’ in alltea-plucking seasons.

Additional properties and characteristics of ‘Kiyoka,’ which may serveas useful reference in variety examination, are described in Table 3.

TABLE 3 Additional properties and characteristics of ‘Kiyoka’.Denomination State of State of of Similar Description of Expression inExpression Variety Characteristics Similar Variety in ‘Kiyoka’ YabukitaBlister blight resistance Weak to Medium to medium strong Yabukita Grayblight resistance Weak Medium Saemidori Gray blight resistance WeakMedium Saemidori Anthracnose resistance Medium Weak to medium

Ecological Characteristics

‘Kiyoka’ was found to be early budding, with the time of first flushsprouting in Japan being 13 days earlier than for ‘Yabukita,’ and timeof plucking in Japan being 8 days earlier than for ‘Yabukita.’ In thelocal adaptability tests, average data (year-on-year cumulative average)showed ‘Kiyoka’ time of sprouting being 4 days earlier than for‘Yabukita’ and time of plucking being 2 days earlier than for Yabukita.

The field resistance of ‘Kiyoka’ to natural occurrence of anthracnose inautumn was deemed to be “weak to medium”. In inoculation tests,resistance to anthracnose was similarly found to be “weak to medium”. Assuch, ‘Kiyoka’ was deemed to have anthracnose resistance which is,overall, “weak to medium”. Gray blight resistance was “medium”.Resistance against both anthracnose and gray blight was slightlystronger than in ‘Yabukita.’ Resistance to bacterial shoot blight infield inoculation tests was found to be “weak”. Blister blightresistance was determined to be “medium to strong” in tests for specificcharacteristics. Resistance to white peach scale (Pseudaulacaspispentagona) was determined to be “weak”, with degree of occurrence beingequivalent to that of Yabukita.

‘Kiyoka’ was examined for natural occurrence of anthracnose in the localadaptability tests. It was found that, although the score for degree ofoccurrence differed between regions, the average score was 2.7, with amaximum of 5.0. This score represented a lower degree of occurrence thanin ‘Yabukita’ (3.4), but higher than in ‘Saemidori’ (2.5). At thebreeding site, an inoculation test and in-field natural occurrence testfor anthracnose were carried out. Comprehensively considering the datafrom both the local adaptability tests and from the breeding site,resistance against anthracnose is deemed to be “weak to medium”.

‘Kiyoka’ was examined for natural occurrence of gray blight in the olderversion of the local adaptability tests. It was found that the averagescore for occurrence degree was 1.2, which was less than the average for‘Yabukita’ (1.7). Furthermore, in an inoculation test at the breedingsite, ‘Kiyoka’ was determined to have medium resistance against grayblight. As such, ‘Kiyoka’ is deemed to have practical resistance againstgray blight, and fungicide spraying is therefore unnecessary.

In the local adaptability tests, occurrence of bacterial shoot blight in‘Kiyoka’ was observed only in Shizuoka Prefecture in Japan. At Shizuoka,the degree of occurrence was higher than in both ‘Yabukita’ and‘Saemidori.’ An in-field inoculation test for bacterial shoot blight wascarried out at the breeding site, and it was found that for ‘Kiyoka’,the number of symptomatic leaves was less compared to ‘Yabukita,’ butsomewhat more compared to ‘Saemidori.’ In 2015 research data by the NAROInstitute of Vegetable and Tea Science, ‘Yabukita’ and ‘Saemidori’ weredetermined to have weak resistance against bacterial shoot blight. Inview of this data, ‘Kiyoka’ was also determined to have weak resistanceagainst bacterial shoot blight.

A field resistant test for blister blight was carried out in ShizuokaPrefecture in Japan. It was found that in ‘Kiyoka,’ the degree ofblister blight occurrence was consistently lower than that of thecomparative variety ‘Okuhikari,’ and thus ‘Kiyoka’ was deemed to havemedium to strong resistance.

In the older version of the local adaptability tests, the average scorefor occurrence of Pseudaulacaspis pentagona was 3.4, with a maximumscore of 5.0. The degree of occurrence in ‘Kiyoka’ was equivalent tothat of ‘Yabukita’ and ‘Saemidori,’ which are both considered to haveweak resistance. ‘Kiyoka’ resistance to Pseudaulacaspis pentagona wastherefore determined to be weak.

With regard to the resistance of ‘Kiyoka’ to cold, resistance to coldinjury in winter leaves (wilting in which leaves turn reddish-brown dueto cold temperatures) was found to be “medium to weak”, which is lowerthan that of ‘Yabukita’ but equivalent to that of ‘Saemidori.’Resistance to bark splitting frost damage was “medium,” which isequivalent to that of Yabukita.

In the older version of the local adaptability tests, the ‘Kiyoka’scores for cold injury in winter leaves had a maximum value of 5.0 inJapan, indicating greater damage than in ‘Yabukita’ (4.0). In a coldinjury resistance test at the breeding site, ‘Kiyoka’ was determined tohave weak to medium resistance, which is equivalent to the rating for‘Saemidori,’ but lower than Yabukita's resistance (2017 research data bythe National Agriculture and Food Research Organization).

A cold drought damage of winter leaves is wilting in which leaves wiltdue to lack of moisture; leaves maintain a green color but lose gloss.In local adaptability tests, cold drought damage was observed only inSaitama Prefecture in Japan. The score for degree of occurrence of colddrought damage was 5.0 for ‘Kiyoka,’ which was equivalent to the scorefor ‘Yabukita.’ As such, there is the risk that cold drought damage willoccur in colder regions having a yearly average temperature of 9 to 12degrees Celsius.

A test for specific characteristics regarding resistance to barksplitting frost damage was carried out in Kagoshima Prefecture in Japan.As a result, ‘Kiyoka’ was found to have medium resistance, which wasequivalent to the rating for ‘Yabukita.’

Quality Characteristics and Processability

In standard cultivation, ‘Kiyoka’ is an early budding variety for use assencha (a type of Japanese green tea which is prepared by infusing theprocessed whole tea leaves in hot water). Suitable cultivation sites for‘Kiyoka’ are warm regions having a yearly average temperature of 15 to18 degrees Celsius. When permanently planting ‘Kiyoka’ in moderatelywarm regions having a yearly average temperature of 12 to 15 degreesCelsius, it is necessary to carefully determine the weather conditionsof the tea field, including choosing a location with sufficient sunlightand little frost.

Because ‘Kiyoka’ is an early budding variety, it is necessary toimplement anti-frost measures in regions where late frost damage canoccur. Anthracnose occurrence is less prevalent than in ‘Yabukita,’ butit is preferable to implement fungicide control measures. Pesticidespraying against bacterial shoot blight are necessary in regions whereoccurrence of bacterial shoot blight is observed.

In local adaptability tests, the average for first flush processed teaquality of ‘Kiyoka’ was equivalent to that of ‘Yabukita,’ and lower thanthat of ‘Saemidori.’ The average for second flush processed tea qualitywas somewhat better than that of both ‘Yabukita’ and ‘Saemidori.’ Thisis presumably because the aroma and flavor of ‘Kiyoka’ have a floralfragrance unique to the variety, and thus when ‘Kiyoka’ was tested assencha, depending on the test location, it was deemed to have flavor andaroma which were of a different nature to sencha. Note that at thebreeding site, ‘Kiyoka’ was found to have processed tea quality whichexceeded that of both ‘Saemidori’ and ‘Yabukita’ in all tea-pluckingseasons, and was found to have a distinctive floral fragrance.

Plant Growth

Cultivation characteristics, processed tea quality, and chemicalcomposition were examined for ‘Kiyoka’ and ‘Sofu,’ which is an existingearly budding variety that has an oriental-orchid-like floral fragrance.The two varieties are similar in terms of plant growth habit, plantvigor, time of sprouting, and date of plucking, but ‘Kiyoka’ has ahigher fresh leaf yield and higher number of buds per square meter. Uponevaluation of SPAD value (which indicates chlorophyll content), it wasfound that Sofu had a higher SPAD value at first flush, whereas ‘Kiyoka’had a higher SPAD value at second flush. However, regarding processedtea quality, it was found that ‘Kiyoka’ had superior color of processedtea at both first flush and second flush. ‘Kiyoka’ had superiorprocessed tea quality at both first flush and second flush, with anaroma having a strong, distinctive floral fragrance, and a superiorflavor as well. In a comparison of chemical composition, it was foundthat at both first flush and second flush, ‘Kiyoka’ had a higher totalnitrogen and free amino acid content than Sofu, and an equivalent tannincontent and caffeine content. It is presumed that the higher free aminoacid content is reflected in the difference in flavor. Thus, theseresults indicate that ‘Kiyoka’ is superior to Sofu in terms of bothyield and processed tea quality.

In the local adaptability tests, regarding the chemical composition of‘Kiyoka’ across all tea-plucking seasons, total nitrogen content andfree amino acid content was higher than in ‘Yabukita’ in some testsites, but somewhat lower than ‘Saemidori.’ Tannin content wasequivalent to or slightly lower than in ‘Yabukita,’ and slightly higherthan in ‘Saemidori.’ At the breeding site, across all tea-pluckingseasons, total nitrogen content and free amino acid content in ‘Kiyoka’was higher than in ‘Yabukita,’ and nearly equivalent to that of‘Saemidori.’

Other Characteristics

At the breeding site, during all tea-plucking seasons (first flushthrough third flush), yield of ‘Kiyoka’ was greater than that of‘Yabukita’ and somewhat less than that of ‘Saemidori.’ In alltea-plucking seasons (first flush through third flush), processed teaquality was superior to that of ‘Saemidori,’ which is a high-qualityvariety. The aroma of ‘Kiyoka’ was found to have a distinctive floralfragrance. In the local adaptability tests, average values for bothfirst flush yield and second flush yield of ‘Kiyoka’ were less thanthose of ‘Saemidori.’ First flush yield was less than that of‘Yabukita,’ but second flush yield was greater than that of ‘Yabukita.’The average values for processed tea quality of both first flush andsecond flush of ‘Kiyoka’ were equivalent to those for ‘Yabukita,’ andslightly lower than those for ‘Saemidori.’

‘Kiyoka’ was grown in open culture. In Japan, planting occurs in earlyFebruary to early April. In Japan cutting time is early June to lateJune. In Japan, flowering occurs in early October to mid-November, andharvesting time is early April to mid-April.

It will be understood that the average size of the plant and tea qualitymay vary with location, season, nutrition, irrigation, etc.

What is claimed is:
 1. A new and distinct Camellia sinensis (L.) Kuntzeplant named ‘Kiyoka’ as illustrated and described.